Challenging the party of Russian President Vladimir Putin a liberal coalition, of which Yabloko (LI full member) is a part, has become the second largest party in the capital, Moscow, after regional elections throughout the country last weekend.
As well as winning 180 seats across 51 municipalities, Yabloko won all 12 of the seats available in the municipality where Vladimir Putin voted on Sunday, 10th September.
Proving that it is possible to challenge the sitting authoritarian Russian president and win, the Russian liberals will be emboldened ahead of presidential elections in 2018. “The success in many Moscow districts results from joint efforts: the confidence of active Muscovites and the active work of candidates. For us, this is a very important signal in Grigory Yavlinsky unfolding presidential campaign”, reported Nikolai Rybakov, head of the Yabloko United Electoral Headquarters and Deputy Chair of the party.
Yabloko party leader, Emilia Slabunova, told her twitter followers that in Yabloko Russians felt the desire for change. More about the election breakdown and the widespread success of the liberals can be found here.
